Electroplating anode



Sept. 4,A 1923. 1,467,083

B. BART l ELECTROPLATING ANODE Filed may 241' A1922 INVENTOR.

Patented Y UNITED!STATES- PATENT BLAsrUs BART, OR EAsT ORANGE, NEW JERSEY, AssIGNOR TO sw'Iss ANODE. cORrORAT1ON,.A CORPORATION or NRWA YORK.

ELECTOPLATING ANODE.

Application mea may 24,k 1922. serial No. 563,224.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, BLAsrUs BART, a citizen of Switzerland, residing in East Orange, State of New Jersey, have invented a cero tain Improvement in Electroplating Anodes,

of which the following is a specification.

A great deal of annoyance and Waste of material and time has been experienced in the use of anodes for electro-plating, due

l to the uneven consumption of material, and the separation and falling off of portions of the anode.

In my U. S. Letters Patent N o. 1295100, dated February 25th, 1919, I have described l and claimed a form of anode which I devised for minimizing these difficulties. In this patent the anode is providedwith perforations of a special character and is formed of a lead (or equivalent) core bearing a covering of copper (or other metal to be used in plating) which is deposited electrolytically upon the core.

In practice, anodes of this kind are sold with the understanding that, when the covering on the lead core is exhausted, this core is returned to the seller for replating. It has been found that in many cases the effective portion of a given anode becomes quite denuded of plating metal, while another $0 portion-usually the bottom-is still more or less covered with metal. The disadvantage of this is obvious. .Moreover, the ship ping of the 'heavy lead cores is a disadvantace.

L/Iy present invention does away with the necessity for shipping inert metal cores from and to the factory, while still providing for holding the anode together until practically used up. The invention also provides for the reversing of the anode from time to time to bring various parts into the field of effective action in the plating bath.

The invention and its mode of manufacture are illustrated in a preferred form in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a plan view of a mold for making the actual anode, showing the interior supporting bars in position, Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the same on the line 2-2 of Figure 1, Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view of a finished anode, taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 4, and Figure 4: is an elevation of the finished anode.

The completed anode comprises a plate 10 of copper or other metal to be plated, preferably perforated as shown at 11, and provided with one or more perforated suspending lugs 12 at both ends. `In the form shown there are two lugs at each end. e

Extending longitudinally from end to end within lthe body of the plate 10 are one or more securin bars 13. These are made of a relatively inert and refractory metal, such as nickle or one of its alloys. Each bar 13 terminates in a hook or loop located at the edge of the perforations in the lugs 12 ee dotted lines in Figure 4).

T e mode of manufacture of an anode of this character is shown in Figures 1 and 2.

At 14 is illustrated a metal mold hollowed out to accommodate the contour of the anode 10, as shown. In the bottom of the mold are conical pins 15 screwed into place (see Figure 2) and serving to form the openings 11 when the copper is poured to the dotted line level 16 in Figure 2, to form the plate 10.

Properly located in the mold cavities which form the suspending lugs, are similar conical pins 17 to form the Openings for suspending the anode. Before pouring the copper, the bars 13 are placed in the mold, being supported Where their hooked or looped ends extend around the pins 17. Thus, when the copper is poured, the bars 13 will be entirely submerged within the body of the plate.

It will be observed that the mold bottom is formed to produce a swelling 18 on one side of each bar 13. This is to insure the copper lasting longer immediately around the securing bars 13 than anywhere else.

In an anode made in this manner, the parts of the anode are held together by the ars 13, in spite of unequal consumption over various parts of the surface. Even if the upper and lower parts of the copper are separated otherwise in course of use, the bars 13 continue to hold the anode together until the copper (or other active metal) is substantially entirely used up. Moreover the suspension is directly upon the bars in question, so that the eating away of the anode does not cause it to drop from the suspension lugs. Indeed the lugs themselves 105 are not essential.

VAtthe same time, by providin suspension means at both ends of the ano e, it is possible to reverse its position from time to time, and thus secure uniformity of consumption of the active metal.

In my claims, the expression active metal refers to the copper'or other metal to bel lated with, while the'securing bars are 're erred to as made of inert metal, whereby is meant a metal which suffers no appreciable diminution in the plating bath from which the anode is intended.

1. An anode comprising a -body of active metal and a securing and reinforcing bar of inert metal adapted to hold said body together in the event of unequal consumption of the active metal resulting in the complete dissolution and disintegration of portions of said active metal.

2. An anode as in claim 1 wherein the securing bar is immovably embedded within and is in inimate Contact withthe active body.

3. anode as in claim. 1 wherein the Memes vsecuring bar is' provided with a suspension hook embedded within the active body.

4. An anode as in claim 1 wherein the securing -bar extends through the active body and has a suspension hook embedded within the active body at each end.

5. An anode having suspending lugs at its two ends wherein each lug has a suspending opening and wherein an embedded securing bar of inert metal extends from one lug to another and has a hook surrounding the suspending opening at each end. l

6. An anode having an interior securing v bar and made with an enlargement along said bar to insure that the portion next the bar shall outlast the remainder of the anode. y

7. An anode having a securing bar of inert metal embedded Within it and wheren the anode has a transverse opening for suspending the anode and wherein the end of the bar surrounds said opening.

In testimony whereof I have hereto set my hand on this 10th day of May 1922.

B. BART. 

